Stephen
Meaning and origin
Wiktionary describes it as a male given name from Ancient Greek. From Latin Stephanus, from Ancient Greek Στέφανος (Stéphanos), from στέφανος (stéphanos, “crown, wreath”), from στέφω (stéphō, “to put round, to surround”). From *stegʷʰ- (“to enlace”) + -νος (-nos, suffix forming an adjective or noun) from Proto-Indo-European *-nós (suffix forming a verbal adjective from a verb stem).
Source: Wiktionary, English entry for Stephen (CC BY-SA 4.0). This is the origin of the name in English; families in Sweden may have taken it from another language.
Popularity in Sweden
Few babies have been given the name since 1998; it belongs mostly to older generations. The figures are for this exact spelling; other spellings of the name are counted on their own.
Years with fewer than two babies (fewer than ten before 2004) show as zero in the chart and as – in the table.
Show the figures
| Year | Boys |
|---|---|
| 1998 | – |
| 1999 | – |
| 2000 | – |
| 2001 | – |
| 2002 | – |
| 2003 | – |
| 2004 | 2 |
| 2005 | – |
| 2006 | – |
| 2007 | 2 |
| 2008 | – |
| 2009 | – |
| 2010 | – |
| 2011 | – |
| 2012 | – |
| 2013 | – |
| 2014 | – |
| 2015 | – |
| 2016 | 2 |
| 2017 | – |
| 2018 | – |
| 2019 | – |
| 2020 | 2 |
| 2021 | – |
| 2022 | – |
Everyone registered in Sweden on 31 December with this as the first name they use.
Show the figures
| Year | Men and boys |
|---|---|
| 1999 | 454 |
| 2000 | 475 |
| 2001 | 502 |
| 2002 | 516 |
| 2003 | 524 |
| 2004 | 526 |
| 2005 | 521 |
| 2006 | 539 |
| 2007 | 556 |
| 2008 | 578 |
| 2009 | 598 |
| 2010 | 594 |
| 2011 | 598 |
| 2012 | 610 |
| 2013 | 639 |
| 2014 | 649 |
| 2015 | 642 |
| 2016 | 654 |
| 2017 | 675 |
| 2018 | 689 |
| 2019 | 708 |
| 2020 | 717 |
Stephen in a sentence
- Hej! Jag heter Stephen.Hi! My name is Stephen.
- Har du träffat Stephen? Han började jobba här i måndags.Have you met Stephen? He started working here on Monday.
- Jag ska fika med Stephen i eftermiddag.I'm having coffee with Stephen this afternoon.
- Stephens mamma är lärare.Stephen's mum is a teacher.
Swedish shows possession with a plain -s and no apostrophe: Stephens mamma is Stephen's mum.
Related names and other spellings
More names
Questions about Stephen
How do you pronounce Stephen in Swedish?
Press Listen at the top of the page to hear Stephen in your device's Swedish voice.
What does the name Stephen mean?
Wiktionary describes it as a male given name from Ancient Greek. From Latin Stephanus, from Ancient Greek Στέφανος (Stéphanos), from στέφανος (stéphanos, “crown, wreath”), from στέφω (stéphō, “to put round, to surround”). From *stegʷʰ- (“to enlace”) + -νος (-nos, suffix forming an adjective or noun) from Proto-Indo-European *-nós (suffix forming a verbal adjective from a verb stem).
How popular is Stephen in Sweden?
Fewer than two babies of either sex were named Stephen in 2022. In 2020, 717 people in Sweden had Stephen as the first name they go by.
Popularity figures: Statistics Sweden (SCB), name statistics (BE0001) from the Statistical Database, released as open data under CC0. Each spelling is counted as its own name, as SCB does. SCB's open name statistics end with babies named in 2022 and the population on 31 December 2020; SCB stopped producing name statistics in 2024 and now points to the Swedish Tax Agency (Skatteverket) for newer figures.
Origins, IPA and recordings: Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0), via kaikki.org; recordings from Lingua Libre on Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA). Lingolib is not affiliated with SCB or Wiktionary. Sources last checked 7 October 2026.